FIEST – International training in TV series writing at the heart of its operational phase

After its beginning one year ago, the FIEST project has entered its operational phase: lessons and writing workshops are currently in progress and will run until spring 2019.

This pilot training, open to 30 students from 6 countries, is conceived as an innovative, transnational and intercultural course on TV series writing. Made up of practical in-presence workshops, distance-learning tools, case studies by recognized professionals, it will train a new generation of writers while creating international synergies.

The 5 partner schools have started the first module dedicated to the development of series’ concepts; it will be followed, in 2019, by module 2, focused on the bible and developed also in e-learning with the Uninettuno telematic University. Finally, a third module will be devoted to the writing of pilot episodes.

1 / Preliminary study on the TV series sector in Europe and the Euro-Mediterranean region

This study aims to present the series’ market in Europe and in the Mediterranean area and to understand its dimension, functioning, main dynamics, as well as the recognized working methods.

The research intends to facilitate the comprehension of this growing sector and of the professional skills required by this specific market, with a view to implementing the FIEST training curriculum.

2 / Multiplier event in Tunis

Dedicated to the launch of the training and the presentation of its curriculum, this meeting took place on October 9 during the Carthage Film Festival, in the presence of Tunisian students involved in the project and many professionals of the audiovisual and cinematographic sectors from the North and the South of the Mediterranean. A discussion on the issues related to the development of TV series in Tunisia and in the Mediterranean basin concluded the meeting.

3 / Development of module 1: the concepts

This first module aims to initiate to the serial writing. It is built around a general presentation of the sector and the study of its specificities, and it will lead to the selection of 2 series’ concepts per participating school, which will be developed in the following module. At present, each partner institution is organizing the module internally, while respecting the common specifications.

Students are divided into 2 groups per school. By the end of this stage, 15 series’ concepts will have been developed, of which 10 will be selected for the writing phase of the series’ bible (2 concepts per school). Throughout this phase, students are encouraged to pitch their series’ proposals with students from the other institutions involved, and accompanied by an expert from France Télévisions, who will offer a critical reading of the works submitted, before their final selection by experts’ juries.

4 / Training on e-learning tools for the preparation of module 2

Module 2 of the FIEST training has the particularity to take place also in e-learning, thanks to the technical and pedagogical know-how of the Uninettuno University.

After the acquisition of the needed skills for the use of the e-learning platform and of the Second Life virtual space for interactive classes, students will be able to follow video lessons and case studies and to participate in collaborative creative writing exercises starting from next January 2019.